CEDAR RAPIDS - Easton Dermody and Matthew Wilkinson formed a strong 1-2 punch on the mound, leading the Iowa Central baseball team past Northeast here Friday afternoon, 4-3.
With the win, the Tritons advance to the next round of the Region XI Tournament where they will face either Kirkwood on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Eagles topped Des Moines Area, 13-4 in seven innings.
Dermody got the start, going five innings with three strikeouts and just one earned run allowed. Wilkinson came on in the sixth, pitching the final four innings with a pair of strikeouts and just one hit allowed. The two walked only one batter in nine innings.
"Those two really gave us a great performance out there," Iowa Central head coach Eric Stein said. "They got out of some situations and were just really strong with what we needed on the mound."
Ryan Wickman started a three-run first that gave Dermody a lead to work with. Wickman finished 3-for-4 with a run scored and also reached on a walk.
"It felt great," Dermody said. "I just wanted to go out there and compete for the team and give us the best chance to win. I knew if I could get us a good start that my man Matt Wilkinson would shut the door. Our defense was also all over the field making plays.
"(The win) puts us in a great spot for Saturday and Sunday. We have the confidence going into (Saturday); we just got to keep bringing the good vibes to the field."
Gavin Baker and Brock Johnson each had two hits, Johnson stole two bases and Max Holy scored two runs. Baker, Holy, Johnson and Devin Hurdle drove in a run each.
Baker, Holy and Johnson had three consecutive doubles in the first inning.
"We strung some hits together there in the first and it held up," Stein said. "It was big to get out to a lead and play with a lead the entire game."
Leading 3-2 in the fifth, Iowa Central added a key run that would prove to be the difference as Northeast made it 4-3 in the eighth.
After hitting the leadoff batter to begin the ninth, Wilkinson recorded three consecutive grounders to secure his third save of the season and give Wilkinson his sixth victory.
"It felt great to shut the door," Wilkinson said. "I have my best stuff for four innings with a great defense behind me. I've adjusted well to coming out the bullpen and I really like it."
Northeast pitchers Preston Tenney and Dylan Rodgers recorded 10 strikeouts, but also combined to walk six batters. Cooper Whitt, Samuel Manwarren and Zane Zielinski each drove in a run.
-By Dana Becker